The software company founded by Michael Saylor now holds about 174,530 BTC, worth roughly $6.5 billion.

MicroStrategy disclosed Thursday morning that it had acquired 16,130 BTC between November 1 and November 29, worth about $608 million at mark-to-market prices.

According to a MicroStrategy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Michael Saylor-founded firm used $593.3 million in cash for its acquisition, making its average purchase price $36,785. 

The firm holds more than 174,530 bitcoin, worth about $6.5 billion at current market rates of $37,500. That compares to a total investment of $5.28 billion into Bitcoin, with an average purchase price of about $30,252 per token. 

With a market cap of just under $6.9 billion, the firm often resembles a publicly traded Bitcoin stock, comparable to exchange-traded funds. “We’ve created a unique investment vehicle,” Saylor commented in the firm’s most recent earnings call. 

This latest acquisition comes as the crypto ecosystem is gearing up for the Bitcoin halving, set to occur in April 2024, and potential spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) filings in the United States. 

MicroStrategy made its purchase before the Bitcoin halving as “they are all about maxing out their profit potential,” head of growth at crypto index platform Phuture Charles Storry told Unchained. The halving will decrease the rate at which new Bitcoin is generated, which could lead to an increase in price.

Per CoinGecko data, the software intelligence firm holds the most BTC in its treasury among publicly traded companies by a wide margin. MicroStrategy has more BTC than the next 20 companies combined, which add up to 80,623 BTC on the balance sheets of firms like Marathon Digital Holdings, Galaxy Digital Holdings, Tesla and Coinbase. 

MSTR’s stock price has slid 2.38% in the past 24 hours but has increased 210% in the past year to $497.54 at presstime, a level not seen since Dec. 2021, according to Yahoo Finance.